


Array Out of Bonds Error

by whaleandjanuary



Category: Fire Emblem: Fuukasetsugetsu | Fire Emblem: Three Houses
Genre: Additional Warnings In Author's Note, Blow Jobs, Dom/sub Undertones, F/M, Fire Emblem: Three Houses Blue Lions Route Spoilers, Impact Play, Magical Sex Toys, Mildly Dubious Consent, Orgasm Delay/Denial, Pegging, Post-Timeskip | War Phase (Fire Emblem: Three Houses), Rope Bondage, Sensory Deprivation, Sex Toys, Sexual Experimentation
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-30
Updated: 2020-10-06
Packaged: 2021-03-07 23:21:03
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 18,479
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26735803
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/whaleandjanuary/pseuds/whaleandjanuary
Summary: The genius sorceress and inventor Constance von Nuvelle is presented with a mystery for the ages: What on earth is wrong with Felix Fraldarius?Answer: Who cares? She decides to research better mysteries, such as, "How many times do you have to tie a man up before he admits he likes it?"
Relationships: Constance von Nuvelle / Felix Hugo Fraldarius
Comments: 18
Kudos: 64
Collections: FE3H Kink Meme





	1. Three Conversations

**Author's Note:**

> This is a fill for a KM prompt that was "Constance/Felix - don’t have any specific preferences for what’s done with this one, i just want them to fuck." As it went way into the weeds kink-wise, I hope it's enjoyable and I apologize to the OP if it ends up as something that squicks them out.
> 
> I tried to make this consensual as much as possible, and boy do Constance and Felix make that a challenge. Constance tries to tie Felix up without his consent at one point but she suffers pretty immediate consequences. There's also non-consensual voyeurism in chapter 3, but it's mostly via accident + distraction. 
> 
> Also, standard disclaimer: This is horny id fic! Don't do this! All I know about actual kink is that everything here is a terrible idea! 
> 
> Constance's personality was very heavily influenced by these two (really good) fics:  
> \- come crash[extended cut], by Crossley: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24088711  
> \- Delighted, by Blooming_Spiderlily: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25715254
> 
> Thank you to justfe3hthings, brooklynapple, and Letterblade for reading and cheerleading when I made them read 85 different snippets of this. Also thank you to DeepBlueRhombus for really thoroughly reading it over. Anything bad in this is almost certainly a place where I ignored a suggestion. Blue writes really sweet genfic and you should check it out.

"Hm... three power levels or four?" 

It was a pleasant and peaceful afternoon, and Constance von Nuvelle stood at the chalkboard in her combination laboratory-and-office unraveling the mysteries of the universe. She quietly spoke to herself, as she always thought better with an audience. Four power levels were possibly overkill. "Perhaps starting with customizations is a bad idea and I should just make the vibrations constant?"

"I'll do it," said a voice from her doorway, startling her. 

She whipped her head around to find Felix Fraldarius standing there with a determined expression. "Hello, Felix. Have you considered _not_ being fantastically rude and perhaps _knocking_ or participating in other human social cues?" 

"I did knock, several times. You didn't respond." Ugh, was she so deep in thought at the chalkboard that she hadn't heard him approach or knock? "Anyway, I said I'll do it. What do you need me to do?" 

She waved her chalk at him. "Do _what_ , Felix? I have no idea what you are talking about." 

He faltered. "The... the testing. You said you'd talk to me if I helped you test your 'devices.'" 

Is that what this was about? She'd said that to make him go away after he unthinkingly destroyed her precious equipment! But if he really... hm. She considered him. 

"Felix, you understand that I am looking for assistance testing magical creations intended for sexual purposes?" 

"Yeah." He nodded. "I know." 

"And you will most certainly be required to remove your clothing? Things will be attached to or _inserted into_ your body for testing? And it is very likely you will be asked to achieve or delay orgasm as part of the proceedings?" 

She saw his shoulders stiffen, but he nodded again. 

She was inspired to continue. "You understand that you may reach unparalleled heights of pleasure and will never be able to recreate the experience without my aid? In short, I speak of no less than the possibility that I will ruin you for other partners forever!" 

Felix frowned. "... I'll be fine." 

"In fact, one might say your very definition of -"

Felix held out a hand. "Yes, I get it." He crossed his arms and turned his face away. "I'm going to have to strip naked and some... forsaken magic spell is going to wrap around me and fuck me in every hole while you take notes on whether there's enough pleasure mixed into my screams of pain. I get it." 

Constance had expected it to be more effort to get into Felix's erotic fantasies, but she filed the image away for later use. "Ah, so you have been to our library here in Abyss!" Felix started to blush. "Yes, the Midnight Fables are exquisite fantasies and I have used several as inspiration for my own workings! But I must caution you that I do not have anything ready that performs automatic penetration. I have several irons in the fire, so to speak, but nothing fit for human trial." 

Or at least she had one _large_ iron in the fire, but it needed more heating. Or, to keep the metaphor going, possibly to come out and anneal. Hm. Perhaps only glass annealed. Oh, what if she looked into rapidly-annealing glass? That could be a practical substance to develop. Ahem. At any rate, one of Balthus's many useful traits as a test subject was his complete lack of self-preservation. So when he informed her, "Uh, no offense, Constance, but I don't wanna die," she knew the pleasure engine needed extensive reworking. 

Felix stared at her for a long moment. "I genuinely don't know what to say to that." 

"Do not worry about it! I have plenty of other trinkets and baubles that need exercising. Now then, scheduling. What are you doing in two days' time?" 

"Two days?" he said. "I'm free now."

Constance scoffed. "I have nothing prepared for you! I need a schedule! I need a complete profile of your interests and capabilities! I need a test plan with _reproducible steps!_ Here." 

She went to her desk and pulled an envelope out of her drawer. The one positive outcome of their disastrous second conversation had been the opportunity to think about what information she would need from a future test subject.

"Read, fill out, and sign these papers, and get them back to me _tomorrow_. Be complete and honest, and if you don't know what something is, please be explicit about that. I will need this information to create a plan which will be useful to me and enjoyable for you." She ignored the look on his face as he took the envelope. 

She continued. "Return here in two days, after breakfast. Eat something light, but filling. You should expect to be here at least through lunchtime and possibly dinner, depending on how much you are capable of handling." She'd heard things about his competitive nature and was absolutely going to take advantage of it. "I will provide meals, snacks, water, and any necessary healing. You should bring a change of clothes and an unbounded enthusiasm for the advancement of the sexual and magical arts!" 

Felix shook his head. "I... will see what I can - no, wait. I can't do mornings. I train in the mornings. I have sword drills. And there's council. You remember we're marching on Fhirdiad in a week and a half?"

Constance flicked a hand dismissively. "The council will function without you for a day. And skip your drills. I shall be happy to ensure you get a satisfactory workout here. When you fill those papers out, let me know if there are any particular muscle groups that you wish for me to stretch or exercise. I can make you as tired as needed!" 

Felix turned the envelope over in his hands and sighed. "And if I do all of this, you'll answer my questions? About..." 

"Felix, if you do this, you may ask me as many foolish questions about my behavior in sunlight as your sharp little heart desires."

He frowned briefly, then nodded. "All right." 

========

Their first conversation on the topic of "Constance and sunlight" had been two weeks ago. It had not been a particularly fruitful discussion but it had at least been _short_. 

Felix had approached her in the dining hall, as she finished lunch and was returning her plates to the kitchen. 

"Constance," he'd said. "Spar with me? After you finish." 

They'd been on the same battlefield, of course, but their paths rarely crossed in day-to-day life. She'd heard that asking people to spar was Felix's way of saying hello, however, so she supposed it was going to be her turn eventually.

Not that she was particularly interested. "I have plans for the afternoon. I would be happy to effortlessly destroy you in combat, but why do you want to spar with me all of a sudden?" 

"You're a flying fighter," he said. His tone was even but he fidgeted uncomfortably. "And you're a mage. I have almost no experience fighting that combination, and I dislike having weaknesses. I wish to defeat you to understand you." 

"Aha! And you believe you could defeat me? I can electrocute you at a hundred paces! From my lofty pedestal in the sky I shall rain destruction until you know the true glory of House Nuvelle! How shall your swords protect you then, Felix Fraldarius?" Fiddlesticks. She didn't have time to trounce him today. Also it was sunny out and she wouldn't even enjoy it. 

Felix smirked. "I have skills beyond swords. You've never seen me shoot a bow, then? Come with me to the training grounds and we'll see which one of us is all talk." 

Constance sniffed. "Alas, I have a thousand and one things to do today. I have no time to offer you the thorough metaphorical spanking you richly deserve!" His eyebrows twitched, which she _definitely_ caught. "But I shall offer you a rain check! Come to me some day when it is raining and I will make time for you!" 

"I - well. I wanted to see you fight in the sun." 

She laughed at him. "Surely you wish to face me at the peak of my abilities? I assume you would not be satisfied with anything less than my very best!" 

"It was specifically your daytime fighting I was interested in seeing." He was back to looking uncomfortable. "I had - I wanted - I had questions I hoped to ask you."

Hmph. So this had been a prelude to further conversation. "Out with it," she said, all humor gone. 

He dragged the words up from somewhere within him. "You - you have two faces. And you swap between them like it's nothing. How do you know which one is real? How do you live knowing that the other one is - how do I know if he -" Felix cut himself off. He looked miserable. 

"Ah," said Constance. She put as much ice into her voice as possible. "I am afraid I have to decline your offer of friendly combat. Good day." 

She left, and he did not follow. 

=========

Constance had it on good authority that Felix Fraldarius was _insane_. He was obsessed with swords and "training," he deliberately tried to shut out those around him, and he had a chip on his shoulder about his liege lord that could be seen from the bell tower. He had spent the past four months stalking about the cathedral, watching the prince talk to the air, silent except for barking at Professor Byleth to _do something_. Constance had seen him there the few times she went up, wearing a scowl and deep bags under his eyes as he paced in the shadow of his prince.

Then the Kingdom army had gone and turned the wheat fields into a bloody graveyard, and everyone knew what had become of _Duke_ Fraldarius there. Who could know what was on the younger Fraldarius's mind now, with Prince Dimitri returned to function at such a high price?

Yuri told her that Felix had been working on patching up a strained relationship with his father before the last battle, but probably not enough for real closure. Hapi called him "Swords" and said he seemed lonely. Mercedes told her that he was afraid of being hurt, that he knew what he wanted but not how to ask for it. Balthus just said not to bet against him in a fight. 

Constance thought he wanted someone to make the world make sense for him. She also thought he had a nice ass and a lovely body, crying out for _someone_ to smack it around a little. But neither of those things were her problem. 

=========

Amazingly, she found the envelope on her desk the next day, sealed with wax and stamped with the Crest of Fraldarius. 

He'd filled out the first sheet, agreeing (in surprisingly tidy handwriting) to everything they'd spoken of the day before. Additionally, he asserted understanding that: he was not being compensated beyond the ability to ask Constance questions on a previously-agreed-upon topic, he might be required to hold uncomfortable positions or experience minor to moderate pain, he would be able to halt any testing that was painful or frightening but that he was _also_ responsible for understanding and communicating his limits, _and_ that she would ensure he was left satisfied by the end of their session. And a dozen other minutiae. 

He'd written, "you don't have to" next to the satisfaction clause, and, well. If he could make it through an entire Constance von Nuvelle test regimen without begging for release, she would be very impressed. 

Unfortunately, his survey results were useless to the point of being comical. He'd checked, "I don't know what that is," for the vast majority of sexual acts, toys, and kinks. Also, under "sexual orientation" he had written "whatever." Constance couldn't be sure whether that meant he was neutral on the subject or whether he had misinterpreted the question as "preferred sexual _position_." 

There was also a third thing in the envelope, which was a surprise. He'd written out his questions regarding her, _sigh_ , regarding Sunshine Constance. This meant she could likely provide written answers back. That was convenient, as it would spare her either deflecting questions she didn't want to address, or reducing him to a sniveling mess if he continued to press her on topics too personal. 

He asked for all these details of what she remembered between sunshine and shadow. When did this start? Which situation did she consider to be the "real" one? Was she content to spend her life indoors? Was she looking for a cure? She couldn't guess what he wanted this information for.

But! There was no way the heir and last survivor of House Nuvelle would give anything less than peak effort! She would address all of his questions with as much detail and care as possible, and he could do what he wanted with the answers. 

The bigger challenge - and again, she would rise to the occasion because Constance von Nuvelle could rise to any occasion - was going to be finding something he could meaningfully test.

She sighed and went over his survey answers again. At least this was teaching her all the ways her survey was flawed in the hands of someone inexperienced. She had likely needed to provide more context. Most of the items he'd checked off positively had some sort of combat use. 

Bondage, unsurprisingly, especially rope. Constance rolled her eyes. He'd written, "whatever you originally planned," to the side. If only he actually meant, "Please use your exceptional creations to wrestle me into submission." Pity. 

What else had he checked? Oh, of course. _Knives._ No, no, absolutely not. 

_Some_ of these terms he must understand in the normal context, she hoped. He was only confused about sexual applications? Surely he knew what a tentacle was in the abstract? (Not that the tentacles were working, grr.)

Hm. Was it possible that he did not know how to read? Had he gotten someone else to write out his signed agreement but then they'd filled out these questions badly, as a prank? No, even the barbarians of Faerghus needed to write letters. 

She was going to need to create a glossary of terms for future applicants. Maybe commission some illustrations. Yes, black and white sketches for easy duplication and maybe some full-color renditions to put up in the bedroom. Maybe she could convince Yuri to serve as a model for the endeavor... 

No. She could not afford distractions. She needed to at least outline a plan for him and then she would have plenty of time to improve the process for the next tester. And she _would_ improve the process. She would create a process so efficient, so seamless, that any who followed it would know it had to come from the House of Nuvelle!

She sighed. Focus. She needed to focus. A few forms of pain seemed to be a yes. The line on spanking had literally every box checked and crossed out to the point that she had no idea what his final answer was. She supposed she'd consider it to mean, "I'm interested but would like to pretend I am not." 

Oh, he _had_ checked, "Prevention or delay of orgasm." That had to be a sincere indication of interest, yes? There weren't any strange terms he could possibly misunderstand. Unless - he did know what an orgasm was, surely? Should she have used "climax" or "release" instead?

Apparently she should have done this via an interview.

That was it, except for... she thought there was one more "yes" ... ah. Oh she didn't _want_ this to be a mistake because it was so interesting. He'd said "yes" to sensory deprivation but no to blindfolds or hoods. It was probably another issue of misunderstanding, but if it wasn't, then well, it could be a fun challenge. If his problem was having his face covered, then... hm, where was that notebook with the jewelry working plans... 

=========

It was their second meeting that had been the real disaster. 

Felix found Constance in her office, starting in on her second cup of coffee. This was a poor time for beginning conversation, but he couldn't be held responsible for not knowing that.

"I ... wanted to apologize for the other day," he said. 

"Ah, well!" She sat up, slightly. "Thank you for coming to apologize. I await your contrition eagerly."

She knew. He thought that was enough of an apology, but she wasn't going to give it to him. 

He stared at her for a long moment while she smiled placidly back at him. 

"I'm... sorry I... was rude to you." 

Barely adequate but it was _technically_ an apology. "Thank you, Felix. Is that all you came here for?" 

He shifted his weight back and forth on his feet. "Is there... can I... what if I did some of your chores in exchange for a conversation?" 

"A conversation? About w -" Oh. Ugh, she needed to finish this coffee. Uncaffeinated Constance was almost as bad as Sunshine Constance. 

"I don't want to upset you but I need to understand. There must be something I can give you or do for you. Anything." 

"Anything?" That made her perk up a bit. She picked up her mug and took a sip.

He put up his hands. "Anything _reasonable_. Do you need anything fought? Abyss has weird monsters, or something, right?" 

Ugh. Surface nobles were grotesque. No, Abyss mostly had old and sick people. 

Of course if he really was desperate she could probably put him to use. "Spin around. Let me see you." He turned, confused. 

"You know that as part of restoring House Nuvelle to its ancestral and well-deserved glory, I produce magical spells and artifacts that both illuminate and titillate?" 

He frowned. "Speak plainly and make sense." 

She took a much bigger sip of coffee and set down the mug on her desk. "I craft magic works and could use help testing them."

"Oh. What do you need?" 

She looked him over. Could he help with testing the intimates? He was average height, which could be very useful for calibrating her experiments. Yuri was average height as well, but Yuri was only willing to help her until he got the slightest bit bored. Then he'd start suggesting better uses of their time, and Yuri was infuriatingly persuasive. Not to say that time with Yuri was poorly-spent - it was pleasurable, educational, and frequently inspirational. But it wasn't advancing her research in the direct way she'd prefer. 

Balthus was her typical test subject. He was willing to try practically anything, had incredible stamina, and was relatively simple to please. Unfortunately he was fairly far to one side of the bell curve in terms of size, which meant setting her devices to work for the average potential customer involved a disconcerting amount of guesswork. Also, he was enough of a masochist to make her distrust him saying, "Nah, it barely hurts." 

Hapi had suffered enough _experimentation_ in her time and Constance would never subject her to more. She borrowed Constance's creations on occasion, and always gave Constance feedback after. That was good enough for Constance, even if the feedback was sometimes just, "Wow, Coco. Can you make it vibrate more?"

So if Felix _was_ willing, that could be quite helpful. He wasn't a close friend, he wasn't gargantuan, and he could be useful for helping her determine the marketplace for sexual diversions outside of Abyss. Yes, she would evaluate his suitability. 

She stood, and tapped a finger on her cheek. "I do have some pieces that might benefit from being tried out on someone with a little fight in them. They're rather intimate, if that's all right with you?" 

Felix smirked. "Bring it. I relish the challenge." 

"Ha! We shall see how you feel in practice. Make yourself comfortable. Take off your coat and swords." 

"I'm fine." 

" _Take off your coat and swords._ " He made a face, but he did he was told. Probably _too_ much fight in this one. 

"One moment." She went into the back room, which served as storage and her test lab. Also it had a bed, so she could sleep there when she didn't feel like going all the way back to the dormitory.

She examined the contents of her toy cabinet. She should start simple, yes? The enchanted rope? 

It was a coincidence that she had teal rope, but an amusing one. She took some of the plain black as well. Maybe it was too much to start with arms _and_ legs, but he said he relished a challenge and it would be _so_ enjoyable to wipe that smirk off his face. 

She checked the small silver tags on each length of rope to make sure she had the correct code numbers. The tiny crystals which powered them were already charged, so she wouldn't need to exert herself. She loosened the outer knots, walked back out to the main room, and then tossed both lengths to Felix. 

"Catch, and prepare yourself!" she said dramatically. Or, at least, it would be dramatic for anyone else; it was fairly normal for her.

Felix twisted one of the ropes around the back of his hand. "Prepare myself for -"

Constance snapped her fingers. "Tag B-eight! Activate alignment three!" _Snap._ "Tag B-six! Activate alignment seven!" 

Constance was very proud of her rope. Constance was very proud of everything she did, because she strove for excellence in all things and also because her inexhaustible confidence was what had kept her going all these years. However, the ropes truly were the finest of her toys. She had been working on their engineering for some eighteen months and they were quite refined. 

Felix made a noise of surprise as the ropes started to slither around his body, and Constance was truly delighted at the sound. The motion of the ropes had been modeled after several different types of snake, and they were both smooth and efficient at binding. "No - Constance - what - " said Felix, as the black rope tightened around his ankles and dragged him to the ground. 

This had been a truly fabulous idea. She'd only tried the ropes on a still person before. It was fascinating to see that they were effective enough to tie up someone who was struggling. Felix was trying to pull the rope off his arms, but - 

Felix sprouted a knife, no two knives, from somewhere. (His sleeves? His boots?) He - oh no - smoothly and efficiently sliced through the teal loops trying to bind his arms. She was so shocked as to be momentarily paralyzed. No... He cut the knots tying his legs together as well. The pieces of rope twisted vainly on the floor for a moment before going still. 

Her work, her precious work! She clenched her hands into fists, but managed to hold back on screaming at him. It was, she begrudgingly admitted, reasonable that he panicked. She should have warned him. 

He sheathed his knives... somewhere... and stood, brushing a few strands of rope off his clothing. 

"Okay," he said. "It's a startling effect, but nowhere near combat-ready. Anybody with a weapon will find it laughably easy to escape. Who is this intended for? Unarmed petty thieves? You could just run them down." 

He did not seem to be panicking. "You... destroyed... my... rope... "

"You said you wanted a fight. I can replace your rope, Constance." 

On second thought, she would _murder_ him. Yuri would understand and she couldn't get any _more_ exiled to Abyss. "Oh? Ohhhh? You can _replace_ my rope? Can you also weave in all the little beads and wires that help it hold its shape? Can you hand-dye it? Can you spend the _twelve hours_ per length that it takes to enchant it properly?!

"Just the materials alone cost as much as a Levin Sword, to say nothing of the cost my labor is worth! Can you replace all that, Felix Fraldarius?" 

"I... " He shrank back slightly. "You said you wanted someone to fight." 

She was shouting now. "I also said I wanted someone to test something _intimate!_ Why in the name of the Goddess and all the Saints would that say 'knives' to you?" 

He shrugged uncomfortably. "Well, intimate would imply close-quarters combat." 

Constance von Nuvelle did not swear lightly, because it was vulgar, but: _fucking Faerghans_. 

She forced her voice into a calmer tone. "Come with me a minute, Felix. Let me show you something." She led him to the back room, to the toy cabinet. 

She opened the left side door, to show the rest of her rope, some cuffs and blindfolds, other heavier restraints.

"All right. I would need more than a knife for some of those," Felix said. 

She threw open the right door. 

He had the decency not to pretend the dildos were anything else. 

Constance put a hand to her temple. "When I said I wanted someone with a bit of fight in them, I meant someone who wouldn't trivially submit, someone who was a bit of a brat _in bed_. Not some kind of... wild animal who was going to treat this like a fight to the death!" 

He blanched but she wasn't done. "This is my price, Felix. Do you want me to make myself vulnerable and answer a number of invasive personal questions? Fine. I want you to make yourself vulnerable and answer a number of invasive physical questions. Do you wish to discuss terms or do you want to _get out?_ " 

He fled, and she did not follow.


	2. A Spherical Cow

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Test Day Is Upon Us!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There's a little bit of Felix getting used as furniture, and a little bit of predicament bondage. For science, of course.

"What am I testing, anyway?" he said to her when he arrived for experimentation. He'd taken off his coat and gloves, his sword belts and chest armor, but his boots were still on. At least he'd made it that far without argument. 

"Ah, yes! I have a very thorough and detailed test plan right here, which I have been working on tirelessly for the last day." He did not need to know that she'd stayed up late trying to work on suppressing the senses as an extension of the Silence spell. She'd crashed for a few hours but had woken up suddenly with the realization of how she could tie the effect into an object. And _that_ would let her switch the effect on and off. And possibly if she could suppress, she could also enhance. And _that_ had made her realize she would need dials for some of her activators and not merely a binary on/off state. And - well, one thing led to another. She'd been in one of the Abyss shop stalls haggling over the price of a small bag of Albinean yak hair when she realized Felix would be there any second. She'd raced back to her office and had written the entire plan in less than ten minutes. 

He took the papers from her and started to read. (Well, that answered one of her questions.) "Why do I have to be naked? If you're just checking that the rope can tie into different shapes ..."

"Excellent question!" she said. It was only a tolerable question but it was important to keep the test subject engaged. "First, it's important to create an environment as close to real life as possible. Generally, one would be binding a naked partner, so you must be naked. Second, one of the things I am testing is whether rapid shifts in configuration will cause rope burn. Therefore, we need your skin exposed. Third, several of these tableaus may cause clothing to bunch uncomfortably, especially the ones meant to frame or engorge the genitals. I assume you would not find it pleasant to discover your trousers repurposed into an impromptu cock cage?" 

He winced. 

The next twenty minutes proceeded similarly. Constance insisted on fully explaining the plan to him. Felix quickly decided he did not want to hear all the details, but Constance was _not_ risking him murdering any more of her innocent toys. He grew progressively more embarrassed but did not, actually, flee. 

Also, she was vindicated on the question of the sensory deprivation. He _was_ theoretically interested, but disliked the sensation of having something covering his face or head. This was thrilling news; she could try the new prototypes! The past two days had been well-spent. They could stand together atop a newly-risen peak of engineering majesty! (Well, she could stand. Felix would be bound to something, hopefully bent over her desk and screaming her name if they got to the really advanced test cases.) 

She made him repeat to her three times that he was not to continue with anything that was causing him injury, and that he was to be clear about how he felt. All of Felix's sparring experience meant he understood the concept of _tapping out_ to call a quick halt to things. He assured her that he would not need it, and she assured him that she would use it if he wouldn't.

Perhaps it was useful that the discussions took so long, though, since it took him twenty minutes to work up to taking his outfit off. Once he was _finally_ stripped, she took him through the rest of the prep work. 

"Do you really need these measurements?" Felix asked. 

"Yes, it's critical to have proper data collection. For example, if alignment seven were to tie one inch too tight, it would likely be painful. At three inches, it might dislocate your shoulders." 

"Okay. But do you need _these_ measurements?" 

Constance removed the marked string from around his testicles and made another note. "Of course! How could I possibly know how much a given action affects your arousal if I don't know what scale I'm working from?"

"I could ... tell you?" he said, voice a few notes higher than usual. 

She scoffed. "You are vastly overestimating your ability to remain objective. Or, frankly, verbal." She turned the page in her notebook. "It's as if you don't care about advancing the magical sciences at all. How much pre-come do you usually produce?" 

Felix covered his eyes. 

========

Felix was significantly more helpful than she feared. Though he wouldn't stop complaining, he did follow her instructions. He made the occasional suggestion, as he (slowly) relaxed. While she was seeing how quickly the ropes could transition between arrangements (twenty-five to two hundred seconds), he pointed out one that was very hard on the knees. 

And in his own way, he was curious, even if his questions were grumbled and presented as, "Why would you -" or "What purpose could this possibly -" 

For example: 

"Why would you even want to tie someone up like this?" He was on the floor, arms and legs tucked under his body, back flat. (Well, flat-ish. There were limits to how minutely you could position someone.) 

Constance turned in her chair and put her feet on him. He made an offended noise. 

"Well, if your posture wasn't horrific, I could put a tea set on you. Perhaps use you to display flowers. You're a tolerable footrest. Possibly a little short." She leaned back. She could still write like this.

"Why would - why would anyone put up with this?" he asked. His breathing was slightly sped up.

"Felix, I lack the time to explain the full spectrum of human sexuality to you. You should consider researching the topic of 'fun' one of these years. But not now." She tapped her notebook. "The current line item on the plan is 'five minutes trying to escape' and you don't seem to be moving." 

"Your feet are still on me." He glared up at her, but she didn't believe the dilation in his pupils was _all_ murderous intent. 

She crossed her ankles but did not remove her feet. "Realistic conditions, Felix!" 

Felix made a noise vaguely like a growl and returned to trying to pull his hands free. 

===========

Another position, another question:

"Why this position?" he asked. He was on the bed in arrangement four - laying on his back with his wrists tied to his ankles, and those tied to a wooden rod so he couldn't close his legs. "It seems impractical. You needed an extra tool to set it up. I'm exposed but my knees are in the way of doing anything. Is it just to humiliate me? How many positions do you need for that?" 

Constance smiled. "I'm so glad you're taking an interest in the art," by which she meant, "You feed me the most delightful straight lines." She took hold of the rod, and, with some struggling on both their parts, flipped Felix over. 

"No! I don't bend like - ah?" She finished repositioning him so his ass was in the air and the side of his face pressed into the mattress. He was trying to look furious, although the blush at his cheeks ruined the effect somewhat. 

She traced the tip of her pencil down the back of one of his thighs. He jerked, and made a small grunt through now-gritted teeth. He squeezed his eyes shut.

"You were upside-down before. Your knees are no barrier with you displayed like this!" she said. 

"So I gathered," he said, voice strained. That was a truly impressive blush he had, especially given how much of his blood supply had clearly been rerouted elsewhere. Excellent; more information for his profile. 

"As far as humiliation, there is truly no limit to how many positions might be enjoyable. There is always interest in novelty in these areas, people seeking new heights of pleasure or depths of degradation! But to speak plainly, this is a fairly classical position. Your genitals are exposed to kind or cruel touch, your thighs, rear, and back are available for any necessary discipline, and you are spread open for penetration. 

"Also your shoulders and face are pushed down without my having to, excuse the pun, tie up an arm for the task. Ha ha! It's a very submissive position, Felix. Do you feel submissive?" 

"... No," he said, but there was a lot of breath in his voice. 

She started writing in her notebook again. Felix was significantly more fun than he'd appeared at first glance. He was being quite helpful in getting what she needed - she knew now how to make the rope easier to use and less likely to injure someone. But now she was curious about _him_ , and people were always a harder puzzle to put together. 

"I was struck by something you said a minute ago, Felix. Which of these positions would you say _are_ practical?"

"I ... nevermind," he said, and tried to turn his face away. 

========

Positions 18A, 18B, 18C, and 5: 

Felix was up on the ball of his right foot. His arms were bound together in front of him, palms toward his face, held in several places by ropes affixed to a beam in the ceiling. His left leg was also bound in the air, knee bent. More rope (this was likely to be the most elaborate thing she did to him today) wrapped around his torso and groin. 

This was a very visually appealing position for him. Graceful, almost like he'd been caught mid-dance step.

He was becoming progressively more unraveled as they went through the permutations. She'd made him take a few short breaks for water and rest and to take care of physical needs, but each time he seemed less stiff getting back into the bindings. Almost eager. Certainly relaxed. 

Not that this position allowed for relaxing. 

"Go on, tell me what this one is for. Am I decorative?" Hm. He might be slightly off-balance. His weight was supposed to be centered over his foot, but he seemed to be listing to the side a little. This whole setup was going to need to be recalibrated. It might be too advanced an arrangement even for her fabulous capabilities. 

"You are beautiful and pleasingly helpless -" (and he couldn't be too far gone because he immediately glared at that) "- but I wouldn't leave you like that long enough for you to be a useful centerpiece. It's really more of a punishment." 

She waited, but he didn't say anything. He did hop slightly, trying to find a better place to put his foot. Tch. Terrible conversational partner. He was supposed to ask for more details. Fine, she would deign to prompt him. 

"Or a challenge," she said.

"What kind of challenge? How long I can stay like this, before I beg you to release me?" 

She waved a hand. "A bit. Although you also have a choice to make. You can stay up on your toes and your leg will get tired, or you can drop to a flat foot, but then all the ropes will tighten, especially around your -"

"I'll keep my balls, thanks." Now he was shifting his hips, and making tiny grunts as he twisted. He was almost as pretty as Yuri, and Yuri in this position would be _trying_ to be pretty. 

Constance _tsked._ "Oh, you wouldn't suffer any harm. Although you'd certainly _feel_ it. Now if I really wanted to torment you, I'd make you stand upon an upturned teacup. Then you'd have another two inches to fall, and you wouldn't be able to hop up and down. Also, if you broke the teacup, I'd have to punish you further." 

He looked at her in horror. "Why would I - why would you - forget it." He was _bright_ red. Hm, yes. Every checkbox under "spanking." They weren't going to have time for her to test any of the floggers if she wanted to finish the original plan, were they? Ugh, what an absolute shame. 

"Felix, in the pursuit of magic we are never satisfied! There are always more pieces of knowledge to acquire! More spells to create! More data to log!" Okay that was ... maybe not the most thrilling part of magic but it was critical. "And on that point, can you remain like this for another five minutes?" 

"Ha, I can do ten. Easily." 

He could do ten _barely_ , sweaty but glowing with triumph when she let him down. She decided not to tell him how long Balthus could do. Balthus had practice. 

============

Positions 2A and 2B: 

This was really the simplest binding, and one which barely needed magic - Felix on the bed, hands and feet each bound to a different bedpost. With his limbs spread like this, he could squirm but do little more, and his entire front lay open to whatever she could imagine for it. 

What she was supposed to be doing was verifying that he could neither escape nor injure himself. What she _was_ doing was doodling little paddles in the margins of her notes. Could she convince him to let her mark him up a little before he left? 

Constance knew better than to mistake an erection for actual willingness, but he did seem so interested. (Minus the fifteen minutes after he took a break in the washroom and she had to yell at him for disrupting her data collection. "The problem is your _dishonesty_! I need to update the remaining pages if the time of your last orgasm is no longer yesterday! You will throw off my measurements!") 

Felix had of course since recovered, and was tugging futilely at the ropes connecting his wrists to the bed. He stared at the ceiling, breathing fast but shallow, and - 

No, wait. "Felix, are you all right?" 

"I'm ... I don't like this," he said quietly.

"Do you want to stop?" she asked. 

"I'm fine. I'm fine. I can do this." There was a whining edge to his voice, and the almost-perpetual blush was gone.

Constance rolled her eyes. " _Monarch._ "

There were safeties, of course, because manually deactivating several toys could take too long in an emergency. There was an immediate hard turn-off as well, but this one caused everything within voice range to untangle/power-down as quickly as safe. 

Felix moved the second he was able, sitting up, pulling his knees to his chest, and wrapping his arms around them. "You didn't need to do that. I was fine!" 

Constance threw a robe around his shoulders. "Mm, yes, which is why you have become a small sphere, one of the _classic_ positions for someone who is at ease." He made a disgruntled noise but said no more words. "I suppose if you wanted to learn some rudimentary physics you'd be your own first-order approximation. Sit there. I'm going to make you some tea. You'll probably get cold. You should put on the robe and get under the blankets." 

As she made the tea, it occurred to her that she'd asked him if he understood tapping out, but not whether he'd ever been injured because he was too stubborn to tap out. Well, nothing to be done for it now. She'd have to fix him up and send him on his way. And her precious new toys would have to wait. 

His hands were still shaking slightly when he took the tea. He had put on the robe, which was a good sign. She sat on the bed with him and checked his ankles. No obvious injury, but he still had impressions from the rope. 

"Here," she said, and gently lifted his legs onto her lap so she could massage his ankles. "Do you wish to talk about it?" 

"No." He shook his head. "I just didn't like having my arms and legs out ... so far away. I don't like feeling like I can't draw a weapon." 

She was trying to let him speak, but - "Felix, you couldn't have drawn a weapon in any of those positions." 

He was annoyed again, which was another promising sign. "I know that! I'm not a fool. I'm trying to explain a feeling with no vocabulary. It was better when my arms were close. Or when I was on my toes, because then I was doing something." 

Constance nodded. "I can see that. Certainly some of the arrangements are more like an embrace than others. And if I were in the position you were just in, I might feel as though I had been pinned down for vivisection." 

"What?" 

"Never mind. Not something I'm testing, at any rate."

After another minute, he finished the tea and held the cup out to her. "What are we doing next?" 

"Ah!" She took the cup and stood. "Let me get you your answers, and then you may dress and go home." She walked out to the main office. 

He hopped off the bed and followed her. "But you said there was more - are you telling me to leave?" 

"Here you go," she said, holding out an envelope. "I wrote out answers to your questions so that I could take my time and give them the care they deserved. I hope my answers help you with whatever it is you are looking for." 

He stared at the envelope. "You _are_ telling me to leave. You're kicking me out because I found one of your test cases uncomfortable?" He opened and closed his hands, agitated. 

"No, of course not. Everyone has limits." She pointed the envelope at his chest. "I am kicking you out because I cannot trust you. If you are going to tell me obvious falsehoods about how you are feeling and allow yourself to be driven to the edge of a panic attack -" and here he started to protest, but she wouldn't allow him to interrupt "- that places an undue burden on me to figure out what you _really mean_. I can't simply say 'Well, he tells me he's fine so I'll continue.' It's so obviously unethical I can't justify it. 

"You're more trouble than it's worth and it makes _me_ uncomfortable. If you wanted to do more you'd have to provide some sort of reassurance that you understood the problem and that this would _never happen again_. And even if you did that, you should go rest now anyway. The test plan took much longer to execute than I realized." 

He crossed his arms and stared at the floor. Thirty seconds passed, before he said, slowly, "What could I do to reassure you?" 

She was about to tell him to come up with something himself, but she abruptly had such a wicked idea. If he didn't do it, fine. If he did do it, spectacular. 

"I am available tomorrow afternoon, Felix. Return with a one-page essay on the importance of trust in a relationship, and how honest communication might foster it." She didn't attempt to hide how much this prospect amused her. "If it is satisfactory, then we could continue experimentation." 

"You're assigning me _homework?_ " He took a deep breath, as though to yell, but instead he exhaled slowly, with his eyes closed. "Fine. Fine!" He tossed off the robe and began dressing with stiff, angry movements. Fortunately, he was trying to face away from her, which gave her one last chance to appreciate his butt. 

Constance took a deep breath and fought the urge to smack him in the ass. She had to let him cool down. 

"And keep the envelope," he said. "I'll take it when I've earned it." He buckled his swords back on. "I'll see you tomorrow." 

"I will be checking your spelling and grammar. Be prepared to answer for any mistakes." Physically, if possible. Felix left without further response, although he might have been swearing under his breath.

Oh, he was infuriating. But she did hope he'd come back.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I successfully nerd-sniped myself trying to figure out if "yak-shaving" was a term anybody would have heard of, so that was kind of meta.


	3. Trying To Spell While Horny

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> They get to the advanced test cases.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter has non-consensual voyeurism, mostly via misunderstanding. The Wolves have some kind of group friends-with-benefits thing going on in the background. Hapi is acting via her group's social norms and Constance is too distracted showing off. But I wanted you to be forewarned if you want to skip this one!

He returned without an essay, but Constance had planned around this. Over the last day, she had weighed the pros of Getting to Wreck Felix Fraldarius against the cons of Dealing With Felix Fraldarius, and, shamefully, her morbid fascination had won. 

She couldn't even pretend this was about research anymore. Ah, hm, it _was_ about research, but the kind that asks questions such as, "How much can you spank someone before they cry?" and not, "Is there a viable market for a dildo that can electrocute you?" 

She knew he didn't have it, but held out a hand anyway. "Your essay, please?" 

His eyes widened. "You can't have been serious." 

She shook her head and tsked. "Felix, you would know if I, Constance von Nuvelle, were joking because you would be on the floor paralyzed with spasms of laughter!" She sighed. "Here are a pencil and paper. I will reluctantly allow you to use my desk. Let me know when you have finished, and remember that I will deduct points for an unclear thesis or an inability to support your arguments. Feel free to use yesterday as a case study, however." 

She watched him deflate slightly. Perhaps he was weighing his own pros and cons. 

But he took the pencil and paper, and sat at her desk. 

========

This seemed like a fine time to "check the enchantments" on various devices. She emerged from the back room with an armful and sat down on the box that served as a second chair. 

Generally her prototypes didn't see that much wear and tear, but there was a slight attrition of magical charge over time and it was best not to be caught unawares. 

She examined the name paddle, which could smack the letters of your choosing into your lover. Or at least the eight-or-fewer letters of your choosing, which was why it was currently set to "Coco." She needed to figure out how to make smaller letters that were still readable. Also charged. Fine. 

(Yes, he was glancing over.) 

Whip with a variable number of tails? Fine. Temperature-variable flogger? Ah, this one was empty. Retractable riding crop, suitable for pocket storage? Fine. Cane? This - all right, this was just an unenchanted light cane but her visitor didn't need to know that. It was still worth checking for cracks. 

"What does that do?" Felix asked. 

Constance _swooshed_ the cane through the air. "It hits people." 

He groaned, although not in a sexy way. "Ugh, obviously. I meant how is it magic. What does it _do?_ " 

Constance ran two fingertips up and down its length. "Ohhh. It turns you on when it hits you."

There was a tiny _click_ as he put the pencil down. "It doesn't hurt?" 

Constance laughed. "It hurts rather a lot. Didn't you think I could create a spell to do two things at once?" 

He looked down, apparently unable to hold her gaze any longer. "And that's supposed to intimidate me, is it? Threatening to strike me if you ... find spelling errors or something?" 

He really must have the most fascinating inner narrative. What she wouldn't give for a transcript. "Perhaps you should focus on making your argument impeccable so you don't need to find out." 

He swallowed heavily and went back to writing. 

========

Constance paced around the room, reading his essay. He'd made grading it quite the challenge; it was surprisingly coherent. He'd used a battlefield metaphor because of course he did, but he clearly understood the lesson she'd been trying to impart with the assignment. Mm, it wasn't even a terrible equivalence. There was danger involved here, although hopefully not combat-level. 

Constance was forced to re-read it looking for things to nitpick. Hm hm, commander needs to believe his troops will follow orders without hesitation lest he be cut off from any sort of interesting tactics ... well, not quite the point we were going for but ... Felix also lost the thread a little bit talking about it being important to tell your friends when you're sick or they can't help you? Although he tied it back to yesterday eventually. _If someone doesn't know how they're hurting you, how can they know to stop?_

The structure of his sentences flowed too well for him to have created this just now. He must have given it previous thought. Yet he came empty-handed. Again, there was clearly something going on behind that pretty, scowling face. How much did she care, though?

"Well," she said, "I am impressed to say I can find little fault with what you wrote. I'm going to be generous and not dock you for the sudden disorder in your handwriting starting at the two-thirds mark. I must point out that your fourth paragraph has two competing ideas, and you misspelled 'conclusion' in your last sentence. 

"Overall, though, you met the prompt in a clear and concise manner. I'd give you a ninety-seven out of a hundred." 

He sat back in the chair and smiled, but she continued speaking before he had a chance to say anything. 

"However, you were a day late, so I'm deducting ten points for tardiness. That gives you an eighty-seven." She put his essay back on the desk. 

He bristled and leaned forward on the desk. "What do you mean? I could hardly have written it faster!" 

"You were supposed to bring it with you. Instead, you showed up empty-handed, used _my_ supplies, and delayed us by more than twenty minutes." She crossed her arms and stared down at him. "What do you think would be appropriate?" 

Ahhhh, she shouldn't be teasing him like this. She really did want to test the sensory deprivation technology and this was just wasting time. 

Felix's face flashed through several different emotions. He picked up the paper, flipped it over twice, stared at it. 

"That's thirteen strikes then?" he asked, not looking up. 

"Yes, Felix," she said, not missing a beat. Upon brief but critical reflection, she had her whole life to test the sensory deprivation technology. Felix was here expecting punishment _right now_. When life gave you this sort of present, you gently unwrapped it and then smacked it to figure out if it squeaked or yelled.

Or maybe moaned, if it was a truly fine present.

"Look at me," she said, and rapped her knuckles on the desk. He started, but looked up. "Would you prefer to lay over my lap, be on your hands and knees, or lean up against the wall?" Or ... lay on the bed, but that was boring and he could think of it himself. 

He stared at her, lips parted. "I'll take the wall." He bit his lower lip, perhaps unconsciously. She strove to remain academic and detached when testing, but this... was making her feel things. 

She stepped back and motioned with a hand. "Select any vertical surface which you find appropriate. And then pants down, please. I would hate to tear your clothing. Some of these do have a bit of bite to them." 

He went to a spot of wall that wasn't covered in bookshelf and shed enough clothing to bare his behind to her. He looked back nervously once or twice, but eventually placed his forearms against the wall and leaned his forehead against the backs of his hands. 

Oh. _The Recalcitrant Squire and the Fencing Master's Sword._ That's where he was getting this from. She hoped he didn't think she was going to beat him with a fencing foil. She picked up the riding crop and expanded it. Better to go too light than too hard, to start. 

"Now," she said, walking behind him. "You've had ample time to consider the question of trust. Here is the advanced-class question: In this situation, which way does trust flow?" 

He swallowed. "I'm trusting you to not hurt me too much, and to..." He trailed off. She waited, patiently, and eventually he spoke again. "... and to make it feel good." She could barely hear him, with his face so close to the wall. 

Constance drew closer, their bodies an inch apart. She touched the tip of the crop to the inside of his thigh, and slowly dragged it up. She heard the hiss of breath inhaled through gritted teeth. 

"And, Felix? What else?" 

"What? What else? I don't know." Oh, he was a treat, wasn't he, thoughts already half-flown out of his head. Delectable.

"What does the commander trust her soldiers to do, Felix?" She dragged the crop down his other leg. 

"Obey her?" he said, breathlessly.

All right, possibly thoughts _too_ far-flown. "No!" She bopped him on the head with the crop, and he startled. "Look at me. Open your eyes. Cast your gaze upon me. I am trusting you to _be honest with me_. No one can have fun if you do not." Nevermind, the battle metaphor was a bad idea. Nobody was supposed to die in the bedroom. 

He nodded. "Okay. Okay." Then his eyebrows narrowed and he pointed at the crop. "You ... you're supposed to use the stick. You said it would turn me on when it hit me." 

"Felix. _Felix,_ " she said, placing her hand between his shoulder blades and gently pushing him back into the wall. "Let me tell you a secret." She stood on her toes and whispered in his ear. 

" _They all do that._ "

She stepped back and struck him, and he _sighed_ , barely audible. 

She hit him again, harder, and he made a tiny noise. Hm. It was going to be a challenge to get some real sounds out of him with so little time. Good! How long had it been since she'd had the opportunity to exercise her skills by hand instead of by proxy?

Three quick strikes, all to the same place, and he gasped. She gave him a few seconds to recover, then hit him on the back of his thigh. Ho, that noise had some surprise to it. 

Hm. She should have had him count. _Smack._ How many was that? Eight? 

At the tenth strike (or... eleventh? Miscounting like this was shamefully beneath her!), he moaned, just for a second. And didn't that warm her heart. 

"As you did not answer my question correctly, I must add one to your tally. Do you understand?" 

"Yes," he said, voice rough. He'd closed his eyes again. 

Because she was greedy (and because dealing with him was exhausting and she deserved it), she struck him on already-red skin. She stretched out his "ah" into an "aahhhhh!" with another strike, and another. His thighs shook.

"That's only thirtee- _aaooh!_ " he said - he started to say, before she got him one last time on the other thigh. 

"I was going to release you with only the original thirteen, but since you reminded me..." 

She looked him over. He had dropped one arm and was leaning against the wall like he needed it to remain upright. He breathed, deep breaths in and out. 

"Felix. How do you feel?" 

He inhaled and exhaled a few more times, then spoke. "I could do more. You don't have to but I could - no, you mean if I liked it." He nodded, still not looking at her. 

Ahhhh, and he could do more. She was sure of it. She probably could cane him, leave him bruised and sore and happy for it. But this should be a short warmup. She should leave it at that, because if she really laid into him she'd have to skip all sorts of things on her test plan, and everything that was left was very enticing to her. But _this_ \- 

He spoke again. "I couldn't... stop thinking about this. About coming back here. I don't know what you did to me." Felix had pulled back from the wall and was blinking slowly. "I started writing four different essays and tore them up because I didn't know if you were joking or not. I had trouble falling asleep." 

He turned to her. There was a slight impression of the wall on his cheek. "I don't like relying on others. I don't even fight with a battalion. I don't like... feeling like I'm not in control. What did you do to me?" 

Constance put a hand over her heart and gave him a look of purest innocence. "Me? I merely showed you the majesty of science. Perhaps you have become enamored of the prospect of magical breakthroughs?" _I laid out an attractive environment and you curled up in it and started to purr._

He shook his head. "Whatever. What else is on your test plan? I don't want that envelope without earning it." 

No plan survived contact with Felix, did it? "Well, I believe it is established fact that you enjoy a good spar. I have devised a way to approximate the effect without having you fight another person. Prepare for astonishment and awe."

========

The game was this: Could Felix remain unbound, without the use of any weapon other than his own body? It was a return to the original idea, without the risk of another _unfortunate knife incident_. 

Constance would toss N ropes at him (where N was between 1 and 4, inclusive), and then Felix would try to keep his arms and legs free as long as possible. He would be naked for this, and could make use of the room geometry but not attempt to damage the ropes. This would let Felix face an interesting challenge, and let Constance test whether the "cause no injury" enchantments could hold up in the face of someone like Felix. Also she could look at him naked but that was much less important that the safety checks. Much less important. 

Both rooms of the office were fairly cramped, and Felix was unwilling to do this out in the adjoining alley where they'd have some space. (Possibly this was for the best; Yuri would have somehow known to appear and then there would be a betting ring going.) So they ended up moving between the two rooms depending on position and the details of any particular match. 

As an added incentive beyond his own pride, Constance set a target for each instance and informed him that if he failed to stay free for the entire time, she would be administering _penalties_ depending on how poorly he did. 

"Might as well put everything away then," he said. "I won't lose." 

"I think I should demonstrate how they all work, first. So you understand the consequences of failure." 

"Ha! Do your worst. It'll be the only chance you get." 

(She only beat him a _little_ , a few whacks with each type of toy. Not even hard enough to leave her name in his rear. The cane left a mark, but it would fade relatively quickly. Although the look on his face after was going to last in her memories.) 

This was a good idea - no, it was an excellent idea! Another stunning plan from the House of Nuvelle. Felix was providing ample data about how one _might_ be injured, but he himself was good at avoiding injury. The wild glee on his face was delightful when he successfully trapped the ropes in a tangle under a chair. Even when he lay panting and hogtied thirty seconds before the time limit, he tossed off a confident, "I could last the whole time if we did it again." 

He did not like being struck on the soles of his feet, though. 

"In that case, I suggest you avoid getting bound in a position where that's all I can easily reach," Constance told him.

"No, I - Constance, please don't do that again." He struggled against the ropes. 

She raised an eyebrow, then knelt in front of him so he could see her. "I shall not. Next time, you select what I use and where." He relaxed, and she brushed the hair out of his eyes. 

"The... can we try the position with the rod, where my wrists and ankles were together? And, the cane? I want to know how bad it gets. On my ass, which won't happen because I won't be caught again."

She stifled her laugh, but only barely. 

========

Eventually, he asked for a break. She assumed, given his state of arousal, that he wanted to disappear to take care of physical needs, but he only wanted to drink some water and sit.

"Constance, why... are you making sex magic things?" Felix asked. 

She shrugged. "Well, they are relatively small, fun to work on, and something I can sell. Sexual devices as opposed to... what, exactly?" 

"I don't know." He waved a hand. "Making food? Medicine?" 

Ah, he did not appreciate what she was doing. Well, that could be easily corrected. "My specialization is enchantments, so neither of those are quite within my area of immediate expertise. Not that I could _not_ become an expert should I so desire it, but as I have not yet achieved absolute mastery of this school I shall continue with where I am! Also, as my primary goal is to restore the glory of House Nuvelle, crafting expensive bespoke novelties shall be both lucrative and highly sought after. No noble shall go to bed without thoughts of my house! The name Nuvelle shall become synonymous with both excellence and ecstasy!" 

Felix tilted his head slightly. "I... can't relate." 

Constance was taken slightly aback. "Surely, as the last of your line you must wish for Fraldarius to remain a viable house." 

Felix shook his head like he hadn't heard her right. "I... what? No. First, my _uncle_ is administering the territory and as far as I'm concerned, he's welcome to it. I'll not let the ghosts of the Fraldarius name chain me to the past. I have other priorities." 

"Such as?" 

He paused. "If the boar's truly interested in making amends, he'll need -" He broke off suddenly. "I don't want to talk about it. What are we testing? Are you confident in your rope and your implements of torture now?" 

Constance thought carefully before answering. "Felix, most of my creations do have non-intimate potential applications. The rope was originally able to produce a ladder, and might be useful for creating rope bridges. The enchantments on various implements might be adaptable to farming or mining applications. My recent research into sensory deprivation implied an ability to do sensory enhancement, or perhaps to restore sight and sound which had been lost. Also I have a secret project whose ultimate destiny may be to replace missing limbs. You know we've more than enough former soldiers suffering that problem.

"But to answer your specific question, not quite. I have another challenge for you, by way of a few last things I'd like to test." 

She went to the cabinet, retrieved an object, and tossed it to Felix. It was a small cloth bag. An old makeup bag of Yuri's, to be exact. 

"Yesterday, when I was discussing the initial plan with you, we spoke of sensory deprivation. You seem to believe you have mastered the art of escape. Do you think you can do it blind?"

He paused, then laughed. "I'd say I could also do it with one hand tied behind my back, but that would defeat the point." 

========

She'd gone too far. Constance closed the bedroom door behind her and leaned against it, breathing heavily. She could still hear the _noises_ coming from the bedroom, but they were muffled now. 

There were secrets of the world that neither woman nor man was meant to know, and she'd tried to seek them out anyway. She'd dug too deep, been a bit too greedy, and now she was doomed. If she was very lucky, she'd survive, although her professional reputation probably wouldn't. 

Also, it might honestly be accurate to say that her underwear was soaked. That always seemed like an exaggeration in the literature. What had he done to her? Why was he like this? 

She fought to steady her breathing. Constance von Nuvelle did not get _worked up_. She was not some flustered teenager. She was a powerful sorceress, and a sorceress was always _fine_. 

All right. Deep breath in. Deep breath out. She would stay out here for a few minutes, tidy up her notes, and reset herself. Then she could go... rescue the test subject. Maybe she should hide his weapons first.

She absently shuffled papers for a minute before there was a knock on the door. The external door. 

"I'm busy! The magical offices of House Nuvelle are closed!" she called. 

"Hey, Coco," said Hapi, completely ignoring her and entering the room anyway. "What are you up to?" 

Constance put her face in her hands. "Hi, Hapi. How are you? I am fine. I am better than fine. I'm running a test in the back that's going to be the death of me, but that is no trouble. Life is a giant bowl of peach sorbet and I shall swim in it. People shall come in from far and wide to see the woman swimming in peach sorbet and that shall be the legacy of Hou -" 

She realized, too late, that Hapi had been speaking, and that Hapi had been _saying_ , "Oooh, a test? I can't wait to see what you've got B up to now." 

"Hapi? Hapi don't go in -" No, too late; the door was open. Constance dashed after her.

Hapi had a hand on her chest and was looking down at the bed in shock. "How did you get Swords in here? And what did you do to him? It's like he doesn't even know we're here." 

The burning shame at lusting after her test subject was immediately forgotten in the face of an opportunity to show off. "That is because he does not! Allow me to explain the stunning tableau you see before you!" 

Felix was bound to the bed, arms tied to his sides above the elbows and at the wrists, and legs spread with rope leading from his ankles to opposite bedposts. Several more ropes fanned out from behind him, around and under the bed, preventing him from rolling over. He looked a bit as though he was trapped in a spiderweb. 

He was also moaning loudly, his face flushed and desperate. He threw his head from side to side. His hair was down and wild. His eyes were open but unfocused, pupils wide. He was wearing purple eyeshadow, and beaded wire jewelry around each ear. He _had_ been wearing lipstick, but it had partially faded and smeared across the side of his face. 

Constance pointed to four cloth bands tied around his upper arm. They each contained a cloth panel with a button sewn onto it. 

"As you can see, I've improved the activation bands. Now you can turn the associated device on and off by buttoning or unbuttoning this flap, rather than having to tie and untie the band itself. I also have four objects active at once without interference, which is terribly impressive if I say so myself. And, as you will see in a moment, two of them are even linked together!

"These top two cover the sensory deprivation that you've already noticed. The subject expressed a desire to not have his face covered, which led to this technology. The ear cuffs are suppressing his hearing. His sight is being suppressed by the eyeshadow, which I'm quite proud of. Now, that raises the obvious question of, 'Where is the charging crystal?' and the surprising answer is that it's been ground _into_ the shadow. The naive engineer might not expect that to work, but -"

"What's the lipstick for?" asked Hapi. Felix grunted and tried to twist his body, straining against the ropes. 

"Ah." Constance grinned. "The lipstick is the most important part of the ensemble." 

"It makes him hot?" guessed Hapi.

"Simply blazing," replied Constance. Felix moaned again, and tugged at the ropes around his ankles. 

"Wow, Coco. Did you tie all this yourself?" asked Hapi. "It looks really elaborate." 

"Yes! Thank you for noticing! Do you like the bows?" Constance pointed at the little green bows tied at his wrists. "He has slightly unusual needs so I made him a custom harness. I may try to fold it into the automated suite, but I'm not certain it's worth it. It's using _so_ much rope." 

Constance pulled at some of the knots and Felix tried to lean into her touch, gasping out a, "Please!" 

Perhaps she'd gotten a bit carried away with the starburst pattern on his chest, but she almost never got the opportunity to do things by hand anymore. She had started by applying the eyeshadow and tying his hands down, and then it had been so captivating watching him get more and more worked up as she wound and knotted the rope around him. There was already a thin trail of precome leaking from him by the time she laid him back onto the bed. And when she finished pushing the final device deep into him, she thought he might climax right then and there. But he just quietly begged her to keep touching him as she fixed his legs in place and shut down his hearing. He didn't start moaning in earnest until she fastened the two linked buttons and the toy spun to life, growing and shaking, stretching him and seeking the places that would truly make him scream. 

The first time he'd cried out her name was when she realized she'd erred. All she wanted to do was keep exploring his body, experimental sanctity be damned. 

"COCO!" 

"Aaaaah!" Hapi touched Constance's shoulder and she literally jumped off the ground. 

"You ok there, Coco?" 

Constance coughed. "Yes, ah, where was I? Oh. The other two devices are linked. Internally, we have one of my expand-and-seek creations. Right now, he should be pleasantly stuffed and receiving an invigorating prostate massage." 

(Felix was whining pathetically and rolling his hips as much as his bonds would allow. Well, "invigorating" was perhaps a relative term.) 

Constance continued. "But the key to the entire scene before you is here." She pointed out the bands of metal wrapped around his balls and the base of his very erect cock. "The rings can detect when his testicles attempt to pull in, and ..." 

She pinched one of the bands and pushed. Felix started yelling, "No! No! Please! Turn it back on! I'll be good! I'll be good!" 

Constance smiled widely. "... and because they're linked, they can deactivate the vibrations." 

"What's the 'I'll be good' about?" asked Hapi. 

"Who can fathom the mind of the wayward test subject?" Constance shrugged. "I'll have to ask him about it during the debrief. Oh, but look! I taught him a trick!" 

Felix was still trying to jerk away from Constance's hand, but his voice had quieted to a whimpered "no." She put her other hand on his cheek. 

Immediately, he turned his face to her, though his eyes focused at the wrong distance. "I'm fine! I'm fine!" he said, near-hysterical. "I mean it I want to keep going I'm ok I'm ok ..." 

She let go of his balls and patted his cheek. He sighed and tried to kiss her hand. 

Constance waved her arm over him. "Just yesterday, we had to cancel the testing session early because he wasn't providing necessary feedback. And look at him today, desperate to communicate his feelings!" 

Hapi shook her head. "I can't believe you broke Swords." 

Constance clapped her hands together. "This has been an _incredibly_ educational experience. I could fill entire notebooks with what I am learning here! Watch, and be amazed!" She flicked one of his nipples. He shuddered and his eyes rolled back. 

"I'm feeling very educated," Hapi said, drily. 

"I have done _so_ much science today! I am undeniably a genius! Ha! In all sincerity, the greatest problem with this experiment is the unrelenting urge to climb on top of the test subject." 

Hapi nodded slowly as Felix started to thrash in his bonds. "... Yeah." 

"It would ruin my data." 

"Yeah." 

"I regret not asking ahead of time. He would likely have been amenable." 

"Yeah." Felix started begging Constance to touch him again. She patted his thigh and he made a choked sobbing noise. 

Constance look at Hapi, who was staring, glassy-eyed. "Are you listening to me?"

"Yeah, Coco. We're going to climb him like a tree." 

"Hapi!" Constance raised her voice over Felix's moaning. "No one is climbing anyone!" A sudden look of horror spread over her face. "What am I doing? _You can't be here!_ I do not have approval for third-party observation! Out!" 

Hapi inhaled slowly, then abruptly shut her mouth before she could sigh. "Can I at least borrow some stuff?" 

Constance put a hand on her forehead. "Yes, yes, whatever you want." 

Felix went limp as the toy inside him deactivated again. "Fuck. Fuck. I'm so close. Constance, please." 

Constance wiped a spot of drool with her thumb and he whined. 

"Well, have fun destroying him. If there's anything left for the rest of us, let me know," Hapi said. She was carrying several of Constance's best things. 

"That is a _lot_ of -" Constance waved her away. "No, no, it's fine. Don't kill anyone, or if you do, make sure my creations are not involved in the cause of death." 

Felix said, in a hoarse voice, "Please don't turn it off again. Please let me come. I'm aching. Please." 

Constance shooed Hapi into the front room and stood in the doorway to make sure she left. She _almost_ left, but not before turning back and saying, "You never answered my question. How did you get him down here in the first place?" 

Constance put her hand on her hip. "It's rather peculiar. He kept asking questions about the sun and my 'having two faces,' and apparently he _really_ wanted to know what it was like." 

Hapi paused, then burst out laughing. "You're kidding me. He's trying to ask _you_ about _Didi?_ "

"Didi?" 

"The prince? Big blond guy? Eyepatch? Black armor? Tortured by the memories of his fallen relatives?" 

Constance frowned. "I know who the Prince of Faerghus is, thank you. What does he have to do with the sun?"

Hapi rolled her eyes. "Not the sun, the two faces thing. I can't believe you never had to listen to this. It's practically the only thing Swords talks about other than, well. Swords. 

"Ten years ago, Didi watched his family and almost everybody close to him get assassinated. So he was _different_ after. But Swords took it really personally. He said Didi became another person. Now... well, Didi said they had a weird conversation about 'true faces.' Maybe Swords didn't like the answer he got and came to you." 

Constance stared back at Hapi, mouth open. "How could he possibly think I know what is wrong with Dimitri? Our situations are nothing alike!" Except in being a response to horrible trauma, but how did that help? 

Hapi shrugged. "Does _he_ know that?" 

Constance groaned. "Well, regardless of his original reasons, I believe he's remained because he's having some sort of sexual awakening." 

"Constance? Come back, please. Where did you go? Are you still watching me? Please come back." Felix was sounding increasingly desperate. 

"I have to go right now," said Constance, and ran back into the room. 

She put a hand on his cheek and he said, "I can't do this much longer." She heard the sound of the outer door closing, so at least Hapi had finally left. 

Constance kissed Felix on the forehead, and with a few clicks released the bands from around his balls. "Oh. Oh, please," he said. 

She undid the knots attaching his ankles to the bedposts, then crawled onto the bed and pushed his legs up until he was bent almost in half. He groaned. 

She pulled a hand back and slapped him across the ass. He screamed and strained at the ropes, then fell back, panting. 

"I can take more," he said. "I can take more. Please - just - I need to feel something." 

She hit him again, and again, until his ass was red and _she_ was panting from watching him unravel. He was babbling, begging for release and to be struck again and to be touched more, all mixed together with curses and Constance's name. 

She reached out and took his cock in hand, and stroked it while she spanked him. It took three more strikes until he came, his own rope added to the array already laid out on his chest and stomach. He gasped, tears in his eyes. 

Constance yanked the toy out of his ass as soon as he seemed done, which got a brief scream, but at least it was out. She put his legs back down, and brushed the hair out of his face. 

"Thank you," he said quietly, as she started untying knots. 

========

She tried to force some food on him, but he insisted he was fine. He did drink water, but he said he was going to go take a nap instead of eating. Possibly a warm bath and then a nap. 

She wondered for a moment if he was going to "forget" the envelope, but he did take it. Perhaps the answers would satisfy him and perhaps they wouldn't. 

After he left, she carefully locked the door to her office. She went into the back room, closed _that_ door, undressed, and reached under the bed for her personal toys, perfectly calibrated to her own interests and shape. 

Then she collapsed into the bed, and did not get up until long after the power crystals had worn down.


	4. The Comforting Darkness

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Of course he returned.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Constance is a little rough with Felix in this chapter but I promise he's into it. 
> 
> I forgot to mention this earlier but Letterblade invented many of the devices Constance uses in this fic.

When he returned - 

Because of course he returned. Because he was always going to return. Because he probably thought she was being hyperbolic about _ruin_ when she was being purely, deathly serious. The only _question_ had been how long he would stay away. (One day, which was less than she expected, but perhaps the looming threat at Fhirdiad put him in a mood to hurry.) 

\- _when_ he returned, he told her he had more questions. He was almost shy about it, looking at her shoulder instead of her eyes. 

"You wrote about it being too loud and too bright, and I get that. But I don't understand." He shook his head, frustration and possibly helplessness mixed on his face. "You said it was like screaming you couldn't hear?" 

He started pacing, and she decided to let him finish working through whatever he was trying to say. "I want to understand. I want to help. I want things to get better. I..." He stopped moving. "I thought maybe if you had more things that needed testing, I could help you. More. In exchange for talking." 

The next time he came back, she was going to make him admit he was here to live out a Midnight Fable and not to talk. But she could humor him once, especially since he'd immediately presented her with an idea. How funny that he'd turned out to be such a muse. In fact, how - no, that was a terrible pun and she wasn't going to dignify it by completing the thought. 

"Hmm... I could show you. I could craft an experience that would recreate my sensation of being in the sunlight for you. It will require several items from my closet of tricks, but you've seen some of them already. And I _do_ have more tests I was hoping to run. We could combine the two things into a sort of delightful rainbow pie. What do you think?" 

The metaphor was clearly lost on him, but he said, "All right. When should I come back?" 

She waved a hand absently. "Oh, we can start immediately. Take a few minutes to resolve any physical needs you have, I suppose." She took a fresh sheet of paper and started outlining. 

"I thought you needed two days to make a test plan." 

"That was before I knew anything about you or your limits." She looked up from her notes and smiled at him. "Or your interests." 

He went very still. "... Give me a quarter hour," he said, voice slightly strangled. 

==========

Felix came back smelling like soap instead of the training ground, and stripped with little fanfare. He allowed her to position him with what was likely the literal minimum amount of complaining his brain would tolerate. 

Maybe she wouldn't have to force any admissions from him after all. She'd shown him an array of toys and he'd silently picked one. And then she would have sworn he was _teasing_ her as he worked it inside himself. Certainly he didn't need to partially remove it that many times, or make that much eye contact. Or bite his lower lip like that. 

Well, Yuri had said there were treasures buried deep under the snow and repression that blanketed Faerghus. She hadn't seen it at the School of Sorcery, but she'd had other priorities. 

She tried to remain silent as he pressed his mouth against her nipple. She was the one in control here. She was the one with most of her clothes still on and access to all of her limbs. 

She stifled a noise as he sucked, as his tongue - apparently, he was a quick study. 

She tugged at his hair until he popped off of her. He smiled up at her, lips wet and shining. "So what is this testing?" Goddess, he _was_ teasing her. Jackass. 

She held his chin. "Whether your mouth is warmed up or whether it needs to be stretched and stuffed, too." She let go of him and got off the bed. "Are the ropes too tight?" 

"No." He rolled his shoulders. "Good-tight. It's... it's okay." She'd bound him kneeling, his calves pressed into his thighs and his arms behind his back. He looked good like that, harnessed but not quite tame. 

She pulled more things from the cabinet. She would need to dye some rope for him. The black made his skin look too pale, and the undyed rope didn't stand out enough. Pity he'd destroyed the teal. Maybe red?

"All right! Let us begin with the actual experimentation!" she said, laying an armful of bits and pieces down at the foot of the bed. 

She tied two of the activation bands around his upper arm, then took out the eyeshadow. 

"Are you doing the same as before?" he asked, as she applied it over his right eyelid. 

"It's the same powder, but we'll be doing a slightly different test. I want to see if it works correctly when applied to a single eye." She snapped the case shut and fastened the button on the first band. 

Felix blinked heavily and shook his head a few times. "It feels like if I could just open my eye I could see out of it, but it's already open." 

Constance nodded. "Let me know if you get used to it or if it becomes too disconcerting. But that's not the main topic of interest. _This_ is!" 

She held up her most realistic cock. It was reasonably proportioned. ("For the thousandth time, Balthus, it is not small _you_ are an outlier.") It was both pleasantly stiff and, for lack of a better technical term, appropriately "sproingy." Also, as it was composed almost entirely out of magic, it could be easily cleaned by dissolving it down to the core and recharging it. Given the potential expansion of her testing pool, sanitation was critical. 

Felix raised his eyebrows. "Where is that going?" he asked, as she buttoned the second band. "Because there's only - ah ahh?" 

Also she'd been secretly adding some extra enchantments. Namely, the ability to transfer sensation. She gently ran her fingertips down the underside, and from Felix's shudder, it seemed to be working. 

"Can you feel it?" she asked. 

"Of course," he said. "Can't you see my reaction?" 

"Yes, but you are _the_ first person to see it or know it exists, outside of me, so I'd like to have some details." 

"Yes... it feels like you're touching me." 

Constance closed a fist around the toy and began stroking it. "Can you feel the sensation moving from the base to the head? And back again?"

"Yes." 

She gave the toy a firmer grip. "Does it feel like I'm holding you more tightly?"

"... yeah." She listened to his breathing grow louder. 

"Close your eyes. Both eyes. What am I doing?"

"You're... circling your fingers around the head. Rubbing the top side? Pumping - ah! - a little too hard." Now his voice sounded strained. 

She let up a bit and reached down with her other hand to stroke his real cock. He yelled. 

"Aaah! Too much!" His eyes flew open. "Please don't... that... what did you?" He looked down at her hand, which was near but no longer on his cock. "That did not feel like two hands. It felt a dozen." 

"Excellent! That's very helpful to know. Thank you." She settled into more steadily stroking the toy. "This is where the real magic happens, you know. Testing out the not-fully-ready-for-production devices." 

"Ugh. I'm glad to help. I guess. You... you must want to tell me more about the practical applications of this. You should go ahead."

She pursed her lips. "Ha! You think your lack of enthusiasm will prevent me from wanting to tell you! But you are mistaken! I am confident in my own ideas, and the fact that you will find them appealing!

"Picture this: you send your lover out and about to have their day. But you give this a squeeze every now and again to let them know you're thinking about them. 

"Or: maybe they have to go sit in the war council for hours and you want them to hurry back after." Now she was giving the toy slow, firm strokes, dragging her fingers. Felix fidgeted like he was trying to pull his arms free. "Or whoever's talking is _dreadfully boring_ and they need help staying awake." 

Constance leaned in a little and slowly smiled. "Maybe, they were _bad_ and you're punishing them by getting them worked up in a public place." Felix opened and closed his mouth a few times, but nothing came out except shaky breaths. 

"Maybe I'm researching artificial limbs and this is an important stepping stone." She raised her eyebrows at him. 

"Or ... maybe this?" She held the toy out, level with his lips.

He looked down at the toy and then back at her. "You can't possibly be serious."

She nodded. "I need to know if the sensation of moisture transfers. I can't do the test myself. I have to take notes." She motioned at the book and the pencil next to her. 

Felix frowned, but he stuck his tongue out and leaned forward. Then he stopped, puzzled. He leaned forward further and bumped into the cock like he wasn't expecting it to be there. 

"You don't have any depth perception right now," Constance said. 

Felix shook his head. "How the hell does he _fight_ like this?" He moved forward more cautiously and tentatively licked the head of the toy. "Hm." 

"How does it feel?" 

"Hold on." He licked the toy again. He placed his tongue flat on the underside and swirled it around. Then he closed his mouth around the top couple of inches and sucked. He closed his eyes. Constance watched his hips twitch. After a minute he popped off the toy. 

"It doesn't feel wet. It feels good, but there's no moisture." 

Constance _tsked_. "That's disappointing. Although perhaps 'simply not working' is an improvement over the first iteration, where it was transferring literal moisture."

Felix made a face. "Ew."

"Well, you wouldn't get any wetter than you would from normal oral sex." He seemed unconvinced.

"It's also a little strange when I move my hips since it doesn't move. I don't see how you could fix that, though."

Constance nodded. "I'll make a note of it, though. Next, do you think you could achieve orgasm like this?"

He raised his eyebrows. "From _blowing myself?_ I don't know. I've never come from blowing somebody and I feel the sensation in my mouth more strongly than on my dick, so..." He tilted his head and said, slowly, "I could likely be doing something better with my mouth?" 

Constance ignored that. "Be a dear and entertain yourself for a few minutes while I write these notes down." She held the cock out again until it was touching his lips. With her free hand she took the book and the pencil and began writing. 

She could feel him glaring, but out of the corner of her eye she could also see him open his mouth, lean forward onto the toy, and suck.

He tried to distract her. He kept making exaggerated moaning noises, and pulling back to make wet smacking sounds. But it took her thirty seconds to write, "No moisture sensation. Some sort of resonance effect when touching body and toy simultaneously. Subject still a brat." And then she could scribble nonsense for five minutes while pretending to ignore him.

Eventually he pulled back and complained, "Come on. I'm growing tired of this. What's next?" 

She closed the notebook and turned to him. "Open up. Just a little more." 

Once the cock was back in his mouth she slowly pushed it further inside until she saw him struggling not to gag. She brought her face close to his and said, "You are growing tired because you are doing a _bad job_." He whined and furrowed his eyebrows. "You're not giving it your all. You want to do a _good job_ , don't you?" For a moment his face twisted into a frown, but then it evaporated and he nodded. She ran her nails along his scalp and his eyelids fluttered.

She untied the band from his arm and retied it around her own wrist. He made a confused noise but she touched a fingertip to the base of the toy. "You said you could do something better with your mouth? Keep this wet for me so I can fuck you with it when I'm done changing." He shut his eyes and shivered, and the moan he gave her was pure with need. 

The eventual intention was for the cock to make it feel like you had an actual penis. At this stage of development, Constance had only gotten as far as mapping various spots on the surface of the toy to her existing anatomy. But, it felt good to use anyway. She'd tested it for solo adventures and was more than ready to wield it against a quivering partner. Felix would probably need lessons to bring his tongue to full effect, but it was enjoyable enough feeling him struggle with the cock in his mouth.

She took off her clothes. She was already wearing a harness, having put it on while Felix was off performing ablutions.

Felix had settled into a rhythm. Now his chin shone with spit, and his expression was hazy. She smiled to see him freed of the self-consciousness he usually wore. 

"Good," she said. "Let me help you." She pulled the toy most of the way out, so that just the head was in his mouth. 

"Now suck," she said, and nodded approvingly. He did, and he used the tip of his tongue as well and - ah - she could feel it right in her clit and that was good. 

"Just like that," she sighed. He almost immediately started sucking harder and trying to move his tongue faster. 

"No, Felix." His eyes popped open, and she put a finger on the tip of his nose. "When I say 'just like that,' I do not mean 'harder and faster.' Try again." 

He slowed back down. She nodded. "Good. I knew you were a quick learner. Now, use your tongue. Flat. Lick." She pushed the cock into and out of his mouth and he swayed back and forth with it, eyes closing again. 

This was incredible. She watched Felix's cock twitch as she fucked his mouth, _mostly_ gently. Constance whispered, close against his ear, "See? This is a good use for your mouth." She pushed the cock all the way in again and let go. He whined, the sound muffled, and gave a full-body shudder. 

She got back on the bed, behind him this time, and started to untie his legs. "You're doing good, Felix." She rubbed her thumb against the back of his neck and he made a contented sound. "Your mouth feels good. You just needed a better goal."

She tossed the rope on the floor when she was done freeing his lower body. "You're going to need your legs for this."

She pulled the cock out of his mouth. "Thank you for keeping this warm for me."

He moved his jaw from side to side and gritted his teeth. "Temperature didn't transfer either." 

She rolled her eyes as she fit the toy into her harness. "Ugh, I know. This toy needs so much work." She patted his shoulder. "But it'll still feel good inside of you. Up." She pulled on the rope at his back, lifting his ass off his heels. 

He groaned and leaned his head back as she removed the other toy that was already inside him. That was tossed on the floor as well.

"Turn around." She helped him crawl over her legs, which was a bit awkward with his arms behind his back. She put a hand on his hip and helped to position him over her cock. "Whenever you're ready." 

He frowned. "I cannot believe you are making me do this myself. I can't use my arms." But he closed his eyes and started to sink down. Ohhh, that was a good feeling.

"You can't believe so very many things today, Felix. Open your mind to the possibilities. You're strong. You have strong legs." 

He took her fully inside and remained like that for a moment, sighing softly and making slight movements of his hips. 

Constance folded her hands behind her head. "All right. Again, whenever you are ready you may begin, at whatever pace is comfortable to you." 

He opened his eyes. "Oh, you're _really_ making me do this myself?!" 

She put a hand on her chest and smiled. "Oh, my very mind is destroyed with the pleasure of being within you. I cannot possibly move." 

"Ugh. Why am I doing this? Why did I come back here?" he said. But he _did_ move, and he clearly knew what he wanted from the confidence in his motions. 

And in truth, she couldn't hold still for too long. She wanted more stimulation than she could get just lying there. And he was _very_ pretty dropping himself onto her cock. He had his lower lip in his teeth and he groaned every time he came all the way down. 

It was pleasant to simply... let go. To fully enjoy this instead of needing to constantly write down every minute action. Constance could feel that she'd be able to orgasm from this and it was going to be fabulous. 

"When -" he panted "- when do we get to test you riding _me?_ " 

"What would we test from that position?" She snapped her hips up just to hear the noise he made. 

"You could - _unh_ \- you could put the cock ring on me again. See how long I last." 

"That could be fun perhaps, but it wouldn't really test any of my magic."

"You could... you could put that toy in me again. The one that just kept..." He trailed off into a moan. "... that... oh... that kept getting bigger and bigger. See if your body's stronger than your magic. I was so full and I... nhh... I couldn't believe I couldn't come."

"Ahhh, so you did like that diversion, yes?" She reached up to touch his lips. "You should try the one I've made for the mouth. It allows the passage of air but nothing else. It holds your tongue and fills your cheeks." She dragged her fingertips down his neck. "Presses into your throat. I could bend you over my knee and beat you, and if you had one of those inside you could scream until you went hoarse and I wouldn't hear a peep."

The look of raw need he gave her went straight to her core.

"I... I'm close, Constance. If you -"

"I am too. Be patient for another minute." She began thrusting up harder. His panting breaths dissolved into little moans.

"I neglected to ask if you wanted to be spanked before we began today." Now she was starting to lose it. Her muscles were so tight. Any second - but she wanted to hold it together a bit longer. "My apologies."

"Ohhh... I can... still feel the cane when I think about it."

Oh, the cane, yes. That gasp he made when she first struck him. The - no, no holding back now; she was over the falls with a cry. So tight - and she could feel him inside and outside and pleasure crashed into her and -

She opened her eyes, still feeling aftershocks, to see him looking down at her. Eyes wide and needy, chest heaving, he mouthed, "Please."

She bucked her hips again and took his cock in her fist. He threw his head back as she pumped him. "Please, _please_ ," he said, as he shook and ground his hips down on her cock. She grabbed the rope at his lower back with her free hand and yanked him down so she was as deep inside as possible. A few more seconds of touch pushed him to completion. He didn't climax quite as dramatically as the last time, but he still moaned loudly and came all over her hand and stomach.

Felix slumped forward and she briefly struggled to pull him down to lay beside her. He groaned as her cock slid out of him.

She put her hand on his cheek. "I'm fine. I'm good. I'm so tired." He sighed. "Better than good. Please untie me."

"Very well." Constance sat up and stretched, even though she didn't want to move either. "Then rest, and then I'll show you what it means to see the sun?"

"Then rest, then - yeah," he said, drowsily, as she brushed her fingers through his hair. 

========

Eventually, they had to get up. She'd untied him and cleaned them both, but they were laying naked in the bed, her cheek pressed into his shoulder. 

"We should get up. Maybe eat something," said Felix. 

Constance groaned slightly, then put back on her usual cheer. "Yes! Let us progress. Are you ready to learn about _the sun?_ "

Felix sat up. "I suppose." 

Constance got out of bed and rubbed her hands together. "This is my proposal. You have, I assume, emerged from a dark room into the sunlight and found yourself blinking and turning away from how infuriatingly bright everything has become all of a sudden?" 

Felix nodded. "Especially in the snow when everything's pure white."

"Excellent. So you understand the principle." She started to dress, then waved at him when he stood. "No, no. You stay unclothed for now. Let me finish explaining.

"Stepping out into the sunlight is the worst reminder of everything that has ever gone wrong. And I cannot perhaps produce that exact feeling in you, but I can make it feel _too bright_.

"I am going to reapply the eyeshadow and the ear cuffs. This will represent the comforting darkness in which I live my normal life. Then I shall dress you and lead you up into the marketplace, which is the loudest and busiest place I can bring you. I believe this is the closest I can come to the desired effect without inducing some sort of actual emotional trauma."

Felix looked dubious, but nodded. 

Constance continued. "Now, I am not going to explain _all_ of the details, because I think some element of surprise is critical for success. But do you have questions at this juncture?" 

Felix thought. "How am I supposed to navigate?" 

"You won't. I will hold your hand." 

She finished dressing and retrieved some rope from the floor. She laid it across his shoulders. 

"Are you tying me up?" he asked. "Don't I need to walk?" 

"I am going to put you in a harness but will not constrain your movements," she said, pushing his arms up and starting to wrap the rope around him. "Since you won't be able to see or hear, this is to give you something to feel, to ground you. You'll wear it under your clothes. No one will be able to see it." 

His eyes widened. "People will be able to see me." This had clearly not occurred to him as of yet. 

"Mm, I want to do this in the other order." She stopped winding the rope and got the jewelry instead. She tied several bands around his left arm and reapplied the eyeshadow. "I will handle any necessary conversations, though I do not expect us to be bothered. If I put my hand on your upper arm like so, then I am talking to someone and you should be quiet. Yes?" 

"... All right." 

"Last call for questions." She held up the earrings before remembering he couldn't see them. 

"No. I'm ok." 

"If you do speak, remember to keep it quiet. It's easy to be quite loud when you can't hear your own voice, and I doubt you want to attract an audience." He made a small noise in the back of his throat as she snapped the ear cuffs in place.

Then he opened his mouth, wide, and she looked at him in confusion before laughing. Endless entertainment, this one. She held his chin to reposition his face slightly, and brushed her thumb over his lower lip. Then she fetched some lipstick and colored his lips, just a shade more flushed than normal. She gently pushed up on his chin to close his mouth, and then caressed his cheek.

"You can keep going. 'm fine," he said. 

She went back to the rope. He sighed as she twisted it around him and tied various knots to bind it to his frame. She pulled him into a standing position to run a cord between his legs. 

Hm, right. She should have foreseen this. He was already half-hard again. She pulled off one of the ear cuffs. 

"Felix, will you be fighting an erection the entire time we are doing this?" 

"I... maybe?" he said. So, yes. 

"Because if that sounds unpleasant, I could fetch a cage to put on you. It wouldn't hurt. It would just keep you from having an obvious bulge in your trousers."

He stopped breathing, and went incredibly still, except for rapidly ceasing to be _half_ -hard. 

"Maybe you'd better," he whispered. 

"All right. One minute." She put the ear cuff back on him. "Can you hear me?" No response. 

She fetched a simple banded cage, similar to what she'd used on him previously except this would keep him soft. She flicked a tiny amount of ice into her hand and gripped his cock. He hissed and tried to jerk away. She rubbed his chest and he balled his hands into fists. But he held his breathing steady as she cooled him down enough to click the cage shut around his cock and balls. There was no need to lock it, but it wouldn't open by accident. 

He shuddered and hung his head. She touched his chin and tipped his head back up. 

"You do so badly want to be a good boy, don't you? Do you want to be good for your king as well? I wish I knew whether you wanted him to be your friend or your lover." 

She finished tying the harness, and smiled quietly as he ran a hand along the ropes on his chest. 

He struggled with her dressing him. 

"I can do this myself." 

Of course. Tie him up, edge him for half an hour, no problem. Suggest taking away the possibility of Unsanctioned Erections? Yes, good idea. She could probably beat him black and blue if she warmed him up right. Help him dress? No. Of course not. 

She put a hand on his cheek. "No, I - you don't need to stop. I just -" He took a few deep breaths and held out his arms so she could put his shirt on. 

Eventually he was dressed, complicated boots and all. She left him for a minute while she tied a few activation bands around her own arm and retrieved one other thing, and then she took his hand, and they were on their way.

========

No one did talk to them, which was a bit of a disappointment. She did get to wave smugly at Yuri at one point, but she turned them away before he could come over and critique her makeup skills. 

She teased Felix a little, because how could she resist? She found a secluded alcove, slipped her arm under his coat and around his waist, and put her other hand on his upper arm. He stiffened, then forced his shoulders down. He turned his head and gazed off into the distance, as though he was tuning out the conversation she was theoretically having. 

She watched him fidget as she kept him there, tapping his foot, rolling his shoulders. She slid her hand down to grab his butt and he inhaled sharply and put a hand over his mouth. She reached up and grabbed a knot through the back of his shirt to pull him closer. He relaxed against her. 

So she took his hand and went out into the alleys again. 

"What was that all about?" he hissed, but she patted his hand and kept them moving. 

Felix was impressively sure-footed for someone who had little idea where he was going. The first time she took him in a circle, he said, "Are you walking us in circles to disorient me?" 

But the second time she took him in a circle, he didn't. So she knew he was disoriented enough that they could go above. 

Felix continued to speak to her quietly, though she ignored him except to pat his arm or back. He clung to her hand adorably. 

"Are we outside now? This feels like grass."

It was. Now to test the final thing - distance activation/deactivation. She touched his cheek - "I'm fine. Are we there?" - let go of his hand, quickly stepped back, and circled around to the other side of him.

"Constance - don't!" He threw his hand out to try to catch her but she was gone. He spun, took a step - but of course he had no idea where she was, and he stopped.

She backed away until she heard him gasp. At a six-foot distance between them, the ropes were set to tighten - not enough to hurt him, but enough for him to feel it.

He wrapped his arms around himself. "Nnnh. Constance, come back."

She kept backing away. At _ten_ feet, the eyeshadow and earrings deactivated.

"Aaah!" He fell to his knees and threw a forearm over his eyes. After a few seconds, he lowered his arm and blinked up in confusion at the nearly-full moon.

Constance approached him. "So you did forget how late it was when you came to visit." They were in the courtyard in front of the old classrooms. There were a few people in the distance, but there was no one close by.

He panted for a minute while he caught his breath. Then he shook his head. "It's still too bright and loud." 

"Yes, so imagine what it's like in the daytime." She looked down at him, perhaps a bit sadly. "I cannot truly answer your questions, Felix, because they are not about me, are they?" 

He stared at her. Then he sighed, and looked down at the grass. 

"Here. This may help you." She held out a piece of paper, which he took.

"You said you couldn't answer my questions."

"I cannot. This is a short article on the importance of trust and communication in a relationship, written by an author that I sincerely hope you respect."

"Oh." He huffed out a laugh. "That was clever of you."

"Never forget that I, Constance von Nuvelle, am a genius." 

He turned the paper over in his hands. "What now."

"Well, I would like my equipment back. I see three options for you to return it. First, if you wish to resolve your dilemma in the most dramatic way possible, go find your friend and ask him to help you undress."

He gave her an absolute look of horror. She continued speaking. "I agree it is an option I do not foresee you taking, but it _would_ lead to something exciting one way or another. No? Well, second, you could go back to your own room and return my possessions tomorrow. My office is open by appointment if I am not present. Or third, return with me and I will assist you, although I will want to interview you about your experiences with these workings, and historical evidence suggests we may end up running more tests."

He looked up at the moon, considering. Then he nodded, and got to his feet.

When she left, he followed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And then they were people-who-tolerated-each-other with benefits and it was fine. 
> 
> This is more than twice as long as anything else I've ever written, which was an interesting experience.


End file.
